The Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) is comprised of networks of
community-based Resource Centers, Developers and Vendors, Affiliates, Associates
dedicated to providing information and support services to children and adults
with disabilities, and increasing their use of standard, assistive, and
information technologies. These ATA Members can be found all across the country.
This site has a lot of useful information.http://www.ataccess.org/

Another good site for assistive technology is the Assistive Technology
Training Online Project (ATTO) at the State University of New York, University
at Buffalo:http://atto.buffalo.edu/

Assistive Technology Evaluation Guide For Students with Learning Disabilities
- this guide offers several tools to assist with the evaluation process: a form
listing areas to be considered, a list of critical questions for consideration,
plus a quick guide to No Tech/Low Tech/High Tech materials, equipment and
technology tools. (NOTE: PDF format only - you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader
Software to download and print.)
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/evaluation.pdf

Audiobooks/Digital Books

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS),
Library of Congress, administers a free library program of Braille & recorded
materials circulated to eligible borrowers through a network of cooperating
libraries.http://lcweb.loc.gov/nls/

Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, has a 77,000-title library of taped
textbooks, reference and professional materials for people who cannot read
standard print because of a disability. Anyone with a documented
disability—including a visual impairment, learning disability or other physical
disability which makes reading standard print difficult or impossible—is
eligible to use RFB&D's taped textbooks but in order to access our library, you
need to become a member. The cost of an individual membership is $25 per year,
plus a registration fee of $50. http://www.rfbd.org/

Bookshare.org is an online community that allows people with visual
disabilities to legally download over 10,000 copyrighted books in accessible
formats. Books from Bookshare.org contain the full text of the book (not
pre-recorded audio) that can be read with the adaptive technology of the
reader's choice. A talking software application is included with membership,
providing members with one option for reading the books. Books are also
available in contracted digital Braille.http://Bookshare.org

BookCourier is a portable tool for listening to electronic text, voice files,
and music by downloading files from your PC or the Internet
using the supplied transfer software. BookCourier includes a
built-in MP3 player; a built-in voice recorder; bookmarks, jumps, and other
navigation controls; a built-in alarm, sleep timer, clock, and calendar; plus
controls for adjusting volume, reading speed, and more.http://www.bookcourier.com/

Ray Kurzweil created the first reading machine for the blind, back in the
'70s. The company produces advanced reading and scanning software.http://www.kurzweiledu.com/

WeMedia has produced a talking web
browser which you can download for free. The WeMedia Talking Browser is the
actual browser through which you surf the Net. Complete with large buttons and
keystroke commands for easy navigation, the browser 'speaks' the text you select
within the browser.http://www.wemedia.com/

LiveInk is a system that takes text and converts it to short formatted lines
to make it more readable - this can be especially helpful for people who
have vision problems involving saccades difficulties and can't read across a
line of text. There are also CDs of preformatted books, including
children's literature and the King James Bible.http://www.liveink.com/

Spelling

The Sequential Spelling program from AVKO system is supposed to be helpful
for dyslexic childrenhttp://www.avko.org/

Keyboarding

Many children on 504 plans or IEPs end up using Alphasmarts to keyboard
instead of handwriting. Alphasmart recently added the
DANA to it's line-up
- it's basically an Alphasmart that also has the Palm OS, making it more
versatile - especially for middle school and high school students, who can
benefit from having a schedule program available. Alphasmarts and DANAs
are less expensive and lighter than laptop computers.http://www.alphasmart.com/

Fast ForWord is another program that some people have found helpful for
remediating CAPD. It is more expensive than Earobics and usually
administered in by an audiologist, but some parents have gotten trained to
do it themselves at reduced cost.http://www.fastforword.com

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